How To (NOT) Prepare For A Gym Workout

So after last night's post, I had a 'plan' for my night: go to the gym at 7:30, do some sort of strength workout, run a bit, clean up and hang out with friends. It didn't exactly go as planned (at least the workout part). Here's how it went:

7:15- Realized I should probably start planning what kind of exercises to do/what I should workout
7:17- Start looking through Fitnessista's Summer Shape Up to write down the exercises and check out demos
7:25- stare confusedly at the computer/wonder how I'm going to feel comfortable doing half of these moves at the gym... in front of people
7:30 Get dressed for the gym, get my stuff together and wonder why I usually bring my car keys (has my PF gym pass) with me
7:35 Tell myself I really don't want to go
7:40 Finally arrive at the gym and warm up on the treadmill
7:45 Begin doing an exercise I have no idea how to do (forward and side lunges, which I didn't have a demo of), feel weird and jump on some of the machines
 It got slightly better from there, but I really wish I planned out my workout beforehand. I think I would feel a LOT more comfortable doing strength training as long as I have a plan, and don't have too many unique exercises (at least at first) that make me feel really awkward. Actually, a lot of the exercises Gina posts are able to be done at home and many use an exercise ball. Although I know I can do them at home, I don't have weights at home (and I don't want to get them since I have a gym membership, and they have weights and all sorts of machines at Planet Fitness). What a dilemma... any thoughts?

Anyways, after the gym, I came home and cleaned up. I was content (not hungry or stuffed), but I knew that feeling wouldn't last for long, so I got a smoothie:

Blueberry Pineapple, yum! I know this I probably the McDonald's of smoothies, but whatever, it was delicious and kept me satisfied for a long while!

Afterward, I hung out with a friend for a few hours. I ended up going to bed later than usual, and even though I'm pretty energized once I get up, I thought it was best to postpone my swim until tomorrow morning.

                                                     As promised, here are my overnight oats:

This time I added ground flax to my oat mixture. As much as I love ground flax, I put in too much (at least 2 Tbsp), which made the oat layers sink to the bottom, boo! I really need to work on getting my oat mixture to the right density so it stays in layers. It was still really tasty, but I couldn't finish the bottom layer of oats, oh well!

See you later with my afternoon eats and exercise recap!

The Sweet, The Salty and The Tangy

Hello, hello! Good morning! I made and ate lots of good food yesterday, check it out:

Not the most photogenic after being transported to work, but it was very good. This is the tomato, spinach and beans over wheaty pasta + grated parm!

After work I came home a little hungry and thirsty, with a smoothie on my mind:

                

                 -3/4 frozen banana

                 -1/2 cup almond milk

                 -1 Tbsp chia seeds

                 -1 Tbsp malted milk powder

                 -1 tsp peanut butter

Around 5:30, I was just relaxing and watching TV, until I received a phone call from Ralph. Look who came to visit:

Yay! I made him a smoothie too, pretty much the same as mine, but with frozen strawberries. It looked delicious, and even though he took his time eating it (ok, ok he WAS telling me about his day, so that's fair) I forgot to snap a pic! Pretend his was a light pink version of mine.

Soon after we made smoothies, I realized a pint sized strawberry smoothie was not going to suppress Ralph's insatiable appetite for long, so we decided to make dinner by picking out things form my fridge, throwing them into the pot, and hoping they would taste good. Just kidding!

Actually, I really wanted to try to make cilantro lime couscous. I've had cilantro lime flavor rice/chicken before, but I've never made it and especially not with couscous. Time for a challenge.

Cilantro Lime Couscous

                                  1 cup couscous                                            2-3 cups water

                                  1/3 cup fresh cilantro                                    1 Tbsp Lime juice

                                  salt and pepper

Throw couscous, water and cilantro into a small pot uncovered. Stir initially just to make sure everything is well mixed. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and cover. Left sit for 5-10 minutes, separate with a fork and add salt and pepper to taste.

To go with the couscous, we decided to make a stir fry with sweet potato and broccoli:

-2 heads of broccoli, chopped into small bits

-1 Sweet potato, diced, small bits

-2.5-3.5 cups water

-2 Tbsp olive oil

-3 small/2 lg garlic cloves, minced

-2 Tbsp soy sauce

-1-2 Tbsp sugar, brown or white

In a large pot, bring 2-3 cups of water to boil. Once boiling, throw in the chopped sweet potatoes. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and throw in the garlic and brown, stirring constantly, for 1 min. Add the soy sauce and 1 Tbsp sugar. Mix until the sugar dissolves, then add the broccoli pieces. Stir the broccoli to coat a little bit. Add about 1/2 cup of water to thin out the sauce and to help it mix better. Let this cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Check on the sweet potato, making sure that the potato is softened enough for your liking. Once it is soft enough for your taste, drain the liquid and add to the broccoli. Mix well. 

Here's what I got:

  

It was so good! The sweet potato was sweet enough to counter the saltiness of the soy sauce, and the cilantro and lime couscous was a little tangy, but nice and light. Not bad for another improv dinner!

I'll be back later with the rest of last night's eats and part of today's!